Lionel Messi can be proud of his improvement after difficult Barcelona season

Lionel Messi is having one of the best season since making his Barcelona debut back in 2004. After performing way beyond expectations during all those years, he has now become the key player for Barca, an indispensable element which the Camp Nou giants simply can't do without.

Words simply can't explain how much admiration Cules have for Messi. To say he is the biggest star Barcelona have ever been fortunate enough to have in their team is a vast understatement.

Fortunately, Messi has returned back to his very best this season after a difficult year under Gerardo Martino in which his insanely high standards dropped. The 45 goals scored in 44 appearances truly speak for themselves.

If Barcelona are to have any chance of celebrating a historical treble at the end of the current season, it is clear that Luis Enrique's most influential player will have plenty to say on the matter.

"I feel happy. The truth is that I began the season in another away after everything what had happened to me last year. I had a difficult year because of things that happened away from the pitch, injuries and my performance level. But now I feel good."

"Last season was irregular. I spent a lot of time away from the pitch and when I returned I wasn't in great form. I have tried to forget what I experienced, though, and recover my best version and now I feel really good."

"We will fight for everything this season. We all really want to get as far as possible in all the competitions we are in. Maybe we didn't really realise what we were achieving under Pep Guardiola at the time. Now we have gone one year without titles, so when success does arrive, we will enjoy it more because we know how difficult it is to achieve it."

"It's nice to score goals, but at these heights each goal is one goal more. I have all my hat-trick balls on display with my trophies, but I have been thinking that maybe I should do something special, something better with them. All my teammates sign the balls because without them I would not have achieved all this success. A hat-trick depends on them, too."

"Everything has changed after the birth of my son Thiago. Above all how I think. Now it it is him first, then everything else after that. It has changed the way I see games, too. Before, if I missed a chance or I had a bad game, I would not speak to anyone for three of four days. Now, I get home after after a game, see my son and everything else passes me by."

"To be a parent has helped me grow and realise that there are things in life other than football." Have Your Say